I Saw Her Standing There
Introduction
Of all the rooms in his large, opulent mansion, his old recording studio was Walter Elliot's favourite. It was there he would spend hours shining all his awards, staring at his platinum records, and watching old concert footage of his band, The Depot. Yes, many moons ago, Walter Elliot had been a world-famous rock star, as notorious for his hard-partying ways as his provocative music. This room reminded him of his glory days, which had long since passed. Now, Walter Elliot was a man in his late fifties, a widower and father of three daughters. He had married four times in his life, but when his last wife, Elizabeth, the only woman he had ever truly loved, died of cancer thirteen years ago, he decided it was better if he never married again. His three daughters were all from Elizabeth; he had never wanted children with his first three wives, but Elizabeth had been different. Her beauty nearly surpassed his own, and Walter had found himself wondering if they could make children as beautiful as themselves. Indeed, amongst the many statues and records in his studio, there were also many mirrors, for Walter liked to look upon and congratulate himself for maintaining his youthful good looks, even now as he approached 60.
His daughters were all grown, although the eldest, Elizabeth, still lived with him. She took care of his estate and his music catalogue, and as their manners and tempers were very much alike, they got along well. She had nearly married several times, but even now at 32, she was still looking for someone who could match her good looks, much like her mother's had matched her father's. This was not a simple task, as Elizabeth was still a radiant, youthful beauty, with thick blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes.
His other two children were much less worth Walter's time. Anne, the middle child, was 28 and lived not far away in London. She had graduated from Cambridge, had gone on to get her Ph.D., and now worked at Queen Mary University as a professor of history. She had traveled the world over and was now content to stay in London, at least for the time being. Her sweetness, eloquence, and good sense of humour made her a favourite among the students, if not among her family. Her older sister and father did not hold her opinion in very high esteem, but she still made it her business to visit once a week, if only to nod meekly and agree with whatever harebrained scheme her father and sister were hatching next. She may be a strong and firm teacher, but when it came to her family, Anne still had not learned how to hold firm to her opinions.
Mary, the youngest at 25, was married and lived in the mansion next to Walter's. She had married the son of a family friend, Charles Musgrove, three years ago, and now had two children of her own, ages 2 ½ and 1. Mary had finished college, but was now a stay-at-home mother, much to her chagrin. She called Anne often to complain of her boredom and frequent illness. Anne listened with her usual even-temperedness, but would try to end the conversation as quickly as she could. Even though Elizabeth lived right next door, Anne knew that she rarely went over to visit her sister and nephews. Elizabeth was too vain to be bothered with such auntly duties, and even Walter was too selfish to be much of a grandfather. Therefore it fell on Anne to help Mary whenever she could, and Mary depended on her quite a lot. Mary had not quite been ready to give up the exciting life of a young twenty-something, and dragged Charles out to the city as much as she could. So with Elizabeth's easy lifestyle and effortless beauty and Mary's determination to remain youthful as long as possible, Anne was the only one who always appeared like she had actually put in an honest day's work, which put her as the least favourite in her father's eyes.
With her hectic life, Anne had time for really only one friend: Susan Russell. Susan was an older woman who had been the wife of Walter's late best friend and bandmate, George Russell. Susan had befriended Anne's mother, and when Mrs. Elliot died, had taken it upon herself to become Anne's friend and mentor. All the Elliots trusted Susan Russell; indeed, they only had one other truly trusted friend: Walter's old band manager, Mr. Sheperd. But Mrs. Russell had always taken a particular interest in Anne that no else had, and Anne was always very grateful to Susan for being a friend.
One day, as Anne was working late in her office at the university, a knock came at her door.
"Come in," Anne called, setting aside some papers waiting to be graded.
It was Susan. She swept into the dim office and immediately frowned.
"Anne Elliot, put on some lights!" she exclaimed, flipping a switch. The office was suddenly flooded with bright, fluorescent light and Anne squinted, momentarily blinded.
"Hello, Susan," she said with a smile once she had recovered. Susan returned the smile and sat in the leather armchair in the corner of Anne's small office. She was a tall, dignified woman, with long, espresso-colored hair that was just lightly streaked with gray. She wore small, wire-rimmed glasses that hid her brown eyes; her thin lips were surrounded by fine lines and small wrinkles. In her green turtleneck and tweed pants, it was hard to believe that the woman sitting in front of Anne had once been a free-spirited rock groupie, but time had certainly changed Susan Russell.
"What can I do you for?" Anne said.
"I thought I should come here to speak with you, where none of your family will interrupt," Susan said.
Anne frowned and leaned forward. "Is something wrong?" she asked worriedly.
Susan sighed and folded her hands in her lap. "Well, Anne… I'm worried about your father and Elizabeth. I know they think that their money is never-ending, but it's not. If they don't seriously cut back on their expenses, they're going to be in some serious debt."
Anne sighed as well and leaned back in her seat. She ran a hand through her shoulder-length, toffee brown hair and shook her head.
"I knew they were going to get in trouble sooner or later… what can they do?" Anne asked.
"First off, stop taking so many vacations and buying so much stuff – clothes, electronics… they're spending way too much. But honestly, Anne, I don't think even that will do it," Susan said.
"What more could they do?"
"I think they have to sell the house and move into a smaller one."
Anne laughed out loud. "Susan, that's asking for a miracle. My father's been in that house for decades. He'll never sell it."
"Well, we need to talk to them. Together, with Sheperd. They must see reason."
Anne nodded. "Alright. But I'll let you do the talking – they would never listen to me."
Susan raised her eyebrows in agreement. She stood and threw her purse over her shoulder.
"Would you like to get some dinner?" she asked Anne.
Anne looked around her piles of papers, but then sighed and nodded. "I'd love to."
As she stood and followed Susan out the door, Anne flipped off the lights with a heavy heart. Her proud, frivolous family was in for a rude awakening – and it was not going to be pretty.
A/N: Yes, 'tis I, NazgulQueen, back again. I just re-read Persuasion, and I just couldn't help myself – I had to do an adaptation. My Pride and Prejudice sequel is in the works, but I'll be working mostly on this for now.
Please note that this is an adaptation – meaning that I will have to take certain liberties with the plot so as to make it believable as a story set in the 21st century. But of course, being me, the happy ending will stay intact. And also, the chapters will be much longer from now on. This is just the introduction.
So please review and tell me what you think! I'd love to get a lot of reviews so I feel buoyant and confident to write the next chapter!
Love, luck, and flying Ringwraiths,
Emma the NazgulQueen
